Friday, January 8, 2010

So you wanna be a technomancer?

7:24 AM | Posted by Warwriter Widow
Grim wasn't exactly a neophile, needing to have every newest technological gadget that came down the pike.  However, he did use computers and a cell phone, which was something the Circle condoned.  Living in Nerva, he found those items useful for communication purposes.  It took him a couple of years before finally breaking down and trading in his flip-phone for a real Blackberry. 
 
This Blackberry connected to the internet and gave him sports scores and weather across the country - he'd need to figure out how to get that off - offered text messages and photographs, and had a keyboard which he kept fat-fingering.  It took some getting used to, not being as small as the phone, and having to go in a pouch at his waist as opposed to just being dropped into his pocket.
 
A pretty tune rang from the Blackberry, and Grim took it out to look at it.  In flowing purple script filling his screen was a text message:
 
Stand at the center of Prometheus Park.  Await further instructions.
 
There was no return phone number.  It was as if it had appeared out of the ether.  He knew John wasn't crafty enough to do something like this, unless he all of a sudden hired hackers, which he didn't think he would do that.  He decided to take the bait.
 
He went to the statue in the middle of Prometheus Park, and his phone went off again.
 
Go below the train station.  Await further instructions.
 
So began the treasure hunt.  Grim would get in range of whatever place he was supposed to be, and the phone would go off.  Grim sensed no one near by.  He didn't feel threatened, just curious. Finally, though, after two hours, he was getting frustrated.  He had criss-crossed Atlas Park already, and always the texts ended, "Await further instructions."  It even said, "Get lunch" and half an hour later it said, "Go to the men's room in Ruby Arena."
 
He tried to look back in the Blackberry, but there were no messages in the memory other than the one he was working on.  Somehow they were getting deleted, and he wasn't the one doing it.  He was at the base of a bull-headed statue in Atlas Park, when he finally sat down and refused to move, even though the text ordered him to go to Up and Away Burger on north end of the city.  He set the Blackberry down next to him and snarled, "Fuck you, I quit."
 
A text message went across the screen, You have more patience than we gave you credit for.
 
He picked up the Blackberry.  He turned the phone on, listened to the dial tone, then shut it off.  He turned the phone over and over in his hands.  Then he looked at it, "Who are you?"
 
"Hollow Mechinae."
 
Grim whirled, all shields up, to face a woman in a black t-shirt and jeans, casually filing her nails, leaning against the foot of the statue.  "And you are Mage Grimaulkin."  She looked up at him, a bored look on her face.  "You look smaller on TV."
 
"What is a Hollow Mechanae?"

"It's the name of our group.  We practice magitech."

"Technomancers," Grim spat, and got up.

"Technomancers seem to have a bad rep," she said, "so we don't call ourselves that.  We're mages, and we manipulate present-day technology by magic.  We don't use future techonology, or Rikti technology, or anything weird or out of the ordinary."

"What about implants?"

"Some of us have implants, it helps to access things more easily."

He waved his hand in dismissal.  "Okay, so what's all this about?  You know we have a technomancer who thinks he's God in our ranks."

"We've been watching you," she said, and launched herself off the foot of the statue.  "You have some knowledge we need."

"So you're going to take it from me, like all these other high-and-mighty technomancers do?"

She sighed.  "Mage Grimaulkin, we don't work that way.  We know that you enjoy knowledge, both giving it and learning it.  We are prepared to teach you magitech if you teach us runes and wards."

"How do runes and wards help you guys?"

"We don't know them.  Our superiors seem to think that your runes and wards combined with our spells and rituals would enrich us both."

Grim peered at her.  "I don't know..."

"Here is an offering," she said, and handed him a silver pin that was a pair of wings.  "This will bring you directly to your assignment, right to the door.  All you have to do is tap it."

"It doesn't have any hidden cameras or monitors or anything like that?"

"No, of course not."  She looked at him.  "You've had a bad experience with a group of technomancers that think differently than we do.  Not all of us are like that."

Grim took the pin and put it on his jacket.  "So how do I contact you?"

"Talk to Berry," she pointed to the Blackberry.  "He'll let us know."  She turned from him, and walked toward the base of a telephone pole.  She sang a lilting tune, and turned into human-shaped electricity.  The electricity flew up the post and was gone into the wires.

Grim walked over to the Blackberry.  He had a voice mail.  After playing with the buttons, he figured out how to get at it:

Michael, this is Mark Banker, you know me as Eule.  I've quit the Hero Corps, and they suggested I try and join your group.  Let me know what I'd need to do.  Thanks.  Bye.

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